June 28, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1031 
1864. 
1873. 
Lobelia. 
herb 
Mentha piperita, 
5 ) 
„ viridis 
yy 
Marrubium 
yy 
Monarda 
yy 
Cataria 
leaves 
Dulcamara 
stalks 
Leaves and tops. 
yj >> 
» 
jy yy 
yy yy 
yy yy 
Young branches. 
The above changes make very little practical diffe¬ 
rence, but the following may be classed among the 
improvements in the present Pharmacopoeia, as the 
parts now ordered contain the greater part of the 
active principles of the plants. 
1864. 
Guaiaci lignum, 
wood 
Papaver, 
ripe capsules 
Quercus alba, 
bark 
„ tinctoria 
yy 
Rosmarinus, 
tops 
Rubus, 
root 
1873. 
Heartwood. 
Nearly ripe capsules. 
Inner bark. 
yy 
Leaves. 
Root bark. 
In the secondary list 
taken place:— 
1864. 
Achillea, herb and flowers 
Melissa, herb 
Solidago, leaves 
Tanacetum „ 
Viola (pedata) „ 
a few alterations have also 
1873. 
Leaves and flowering tops. 
Leaves and tops. 
yy yy 
yy yy 
Root. 
THE USE OF NUT OIL IN PHARMACY, 
AND ESPECIALLY IN 
THE PREPARATION OF TJNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI 
NITRATIS.* 
BY M. FALIERES. 
Iii a brief review of former formulee for the prepa¬ 
ration of citrine ointment, the author calls attention 
to the large increase which has taken place in the 
relative proportion of the nitric acid to the mercury. 
The proportions indicated by Baume, in 1785, were 
nitric acid 128 parts, mercury 96 parts, lard 1000 
parts. The mercury has been gradually decreased 
until, in the Codex for 1866, where equal parts (500) 
of olive oil and lard are ordered, the nitric acid is 
100 parts, and the mercury 50. Thus the propor¬ 
tions which originally were 4 of nitric acid (sp. gr. 
1-28) and mercury 3, have become nitric acid (sp. 
gr. 1-42) 2, and mercury 1.+ Without blaming the 
progressive diminution of the metal, since even with 
this reduction the medicament still remains very 
powerful, the author objects to the great excess of 
acid. Suggestions have been made to remove the 
excess of acid by washing the ointment with a large 
quantity of water, and then adding an equal weight 
of almond oil, but have been rejected in consequence 
of the length and difficulty of the operation, and it 
being far from certain that the whole of the acid 
excess would be thus removed. 
The author having had occasion to make a com¬ 
parative investigation of pure olive oil and the oil of 
the ground nut (Arachis liypogcea), found that the 
arachis oil possesses a great aptitude for the nitric 
solidification. Hence he conceived the idea of sup¬ 
pressing entirely the lard in the preparation of 
nitrate of mercury ointment. The product so 
* ‘ Bull, des Travaux de la Societe de Pharmacie de 
Bordeaux,’ vol. xiii. 165. 
f In the B. P., where more olive oil is used, the propor¬ 
tions are nitric acid 3, mercury 1. 
obtained appeared to present such marked advan¬ 
tages as to induce him to make known the process. 
Mercury ... ... ... ... 5 parts. 
Nitric Acid (sp. gr. 1 , 42) ... 10 „ 
Nut Oil ... ... ... ... 100 „ 
Dissolve without heat the mercury in the acid ; pour 
the mercurial solution into the oil, agitating from 
time to time with a glass or earthenware spatula. 
After two or three hours, according to the quantity 
operated upon, and at a temperature of about 20° C, 
the mixture begins to take a milky consistence, which 
lasts for about an hour, then thickens to that of a soft 
butter. This latter stage lasts at least two hours, 
during any portion of which time the ointment may 
be poured out. The mass spreads with perfect regu¬ 
larity in a paper mould; the thickness of the layer is 
uniform, and there is no separation between the oily 
and mercurial elements, showing that the combina¬ 
tion is complete. The product does not set so rapidly 
as the official one ; at the end of ten or twelve hours 
it is easily divided by a wooden knife, but this is more 
conveniently done after it has stood for twenty-four 
hours; its consistence is then similar to that of cacao 
butter in the summer. Two or three days afterwards 
it appears to attain its maximum of firmness, and 
some has been kept upwards of two months without 
showing any appreciable difference in its consistence. 
Compared with the Co lex preparation, the author 
considers that the ointment made with nut oil has 
greater cohesion, is not friable, and appears much 
better adapted for friction, as it melts and spreads 
upon the skin with greater facility. 
M. Falieres is of opinion that no serious exception 
could be taken to the change of fat excipient w T hich 
he proposes. The progress attained in the manufac¬ 
ture of arachis oil has provided a white, bland, taste¬ 
less article, which is, commercially speaking, neutral. 
Perfumers, who are not, like pharmacists, bound by a 
formal code, make large use of the ground nut oil in 
the manufacture of pomades, cold cream, etc. A per¬ 
fect type of a non-drying oil, it absorbs relatively 
small quantities of perfume ; it requires the least 
wax, spermaceti, or stearine for its solidification, and 
finally may be kept almost indefinitely without turn¬ 
ing rancid. The author promises at some future time 
to show in detail the advantages that may be obtained 
from the use of nut oil in a large number of pharma¬ 
ceutical preparations. 
CHRONIC POISONING BY CHLORAL HYDRATE. 
BY DR. LUDWIG KIRN. 
In an article in the Allgemeine Zeitschrift fur Psy¬ 
chiatric, to an abstract of which, appearing in The Prac¬ 
titioner for the present month, we are indebted for 
the following notes, the author calls attention to the 
changes which the long-continued use of chloral hydrate 
sometimes produces in the organism. Experience has 
shown that the individual tolerance of patients for this 
drug varies within very wide limits, and he states that 
although at one time he administered it for the most part 
daily as a hypnotic, in doses of 30 to 60 grains, or occa¬ 
sionally 75 to 90 grains, he would now rarely go beyond 
the dose of 30 grains. Its calming and hypnotic influ¬ 
ence have proved to be exceedingly variable. Whilst upon 
many patients the commencing dose of 30 grains con¬ 
tinues for a long time to produce the desired effect, and for 
others only a gradual increase of this quantity is required, 
there are cases in which but slight results are obtained, 
although the dose be increased to 60 grains. In many pa 
tients, same dose sometimes succeeds and sometimes fails. 
